1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a golf practice device, and more particularly, to an indoor/outdoor golf practice device having a spring assembly and a damper assembly which, among other things, cooperatively facilitate use of the device in confined environments without sacrificing requisite feel for appropriate feedback toward correcting and/or grooving of a golfer""s swing.
2. Background Art
Golf practice devices have been known in the art for years, and are the subject of numerous patents, including: U.S. Patent No. U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,243 B1 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Ball Feeder for Use in Golf Practice Court;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,396 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Mat;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,637 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,407 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice and Analyzer System;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,405 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,326 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,442 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice and Training Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,147 entitled xe2x80x9cDivot Hit/Portable Golf Practice Mat;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,167 entitled xe2x80x9cBall Support and Golf Swing Aid for Golf Practice;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,164 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Aid;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,683 entitled xe2x80x9cSimplified Golf Practice Equipment;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,701 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Aid;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,562 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,670 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,967 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,782 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,527 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,238 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,355 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,886 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,847 entitled xe2x80x9cMagnetically Restored Golf Practice Device with Visual and Audio Display;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,072 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,336 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Aid;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,930 entitled xe2x80x9cMagnetically Restored Golf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,997 entitled xe2x80x9cPortable Golf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,833 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,406 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,723 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,802 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,059 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,105 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,790 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,155 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,877 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,663 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Swing Tee Mat;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,660 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,154 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,035 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,934 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Apparatus;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,835 entitled xe2x80x9cTethered Ball Golf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,460 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,374 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,406 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Game;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,156 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,503 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,234 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,027 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,250 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Drive Analyzer;xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,995 entitled xe2x80x9cGolf Practice Device;xe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,011 entitled xe2x80x9cHeads Down Golf Practice Devicexe2x80x9d all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,637 discloses a golf practice device comprising a base having on the top surface a section of artificial turf and a positioning support. A rod is pivot mounted to the front end of the positioning support and the leading end of the rod is pivot mounted to a ball to form the directional control mount. The rod of the directional control mount is inserted such that the ball enters a threaded section, at the bottom end of which is the connection rod of a swivel mount having an internal spherical-shaped space, and until the threaded section is situated laterally against the ball of the direction control mount. This enables assembly to the swivel mount so that the ball of the direction control mount is contained in the swivel fitting of the swivel assembly. The swivel mount and the connection rod at the top and bottom ends of the swivel assembly are structurally coordinated with a golf ball at the bottom end of another rod forming the golf ball assembly. Following the assembly of the device, while the user is engaged in golf club swinging practice, the invention purportedly offers increased practical performance by indicating to the user whether the golf club has hit the golf ball squarely or not and, furthermore, allows for appropriate corrections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,683 discloses a golf practice device which comprises a rectangular base block, an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped metal supporting plate mounted on one side of the base block by nuts, a steel cantilever shaft having one end fixed to a vertical slot of the vertical portion of the supporting plate by a nut and a ball swinging rod having a mounting socket at the top for sleeving over the free end of the cantilever shaft and retained by a nut and a washer, and a target ball at a free end of the ball swinging rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,886 discloses a system for enabling golf practice to be held in a limited space including: a cylindrical, PVC, pipe casing containing weight means and having a first end with an end cap fastened thereon, an eye bolt fastened to the first end cap, and a second end having an end cap fastened thereon, forming a sealed container for the weight means, a golf ball having a bore formed therethrough at the diameter, the bore countersunk at one end, and a tethering cord having a first end and a second end, the cord secured at the first end to the golf ball, the cord passing through the bore and secured therein, and shaped to conform to the outer surface of the golf ball at the first end, and the tethering cord secured at a second end to the eye bolt, the second end passing through the eye bolt, and secured to itself by a clamp, thereby forming a loop, whereby when the golf ball, the cord and the pipe casing are strung out in alignment and the ball is struck by a golf club, the ball will travel along it natural trajectory until restrained by the weight pipe casing, thereby allowing viewing of at least the initial portion of the trajectory of the ball and enabling the ball to travel substantially double the distance of the length of the cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,790 discloses a golf practice device in which a practice ball is connected by a flexible cord to a ball-control frame mounted rotatably on a base, characterized in that: when the device is arranged operatively, the base is secured at a location at which a golf club may be swung to strike said ball, the flexible cord being substantially inelastic and acting, when the ball is struck, to effect rotation of the ball-control frame, the latter having damping means arranged to allow the cord to extend to an extent commensurate with the striking force on the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,995 discloses a drag member having a flexible, self-sustaining form which is centrally attached to a golf ball by a flexible elongated member. The drag member comprises a substantially planar central portion and radial segments extending outwardly from the central portion. When the golf ball is driven through the air, the drag member is pulled behind the ball transverse to the trajectory of the ball. The drag member defines an aerodynamically designed drag surface area of initially fixed dimensions which vary inversely with the flight speed of the device. The drag member acts to shorten the flight of the golf ball and to provide a flight trajectory for the attached golf ball similar to that of a conventional golf ball.
While the above-identified patents do appear to provide operable practice devices, their configurations remain non-desirous and/or problematic inasmuch as none of the above-identified devices appear to be: (a) readily adaptable for confined indoor or spacious outdoor use; (b) easily convertible from a storage configuration to a use configuration; and (c) materially able to provide a user with the feel of hitting a real golf ball when time, weather, and/or space prohibit hitting an unrestricted golf ball, such as on a course, range, field, etc.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a golf practice device which, among other things, remedies the aforementioned detriments and/or complications associated with the use of the above-identified golf practice devices.
The present invention is directed to a golf practice device comprising: (a) a spring assembly, wherein the spring assembly is capable of at least partially reducing kinetic energy of an associated golf ball; (b) a golf ball, wherein the golf ball is associated with the spring assembly; and (c) a damper assembly, wherein the damper assembly is capable of at least partially dissipating kinetic energy of the golf ball.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spring assembly includes a spring which emanates generally parallel to an intended flight vector of the golf ball. In this embodiment the spring assembly may comprise a compression spring.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the golf ball is tethered directly to the spring assembly.
Preferably, the damper assembly is capable of redirecting the golf ball back toward an initial position prior to being struck by a golf club.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention the golf practice device further comprises at least one spring assembly guard, wherein at least one spring assembly guard prevents the golf ball from contacting the spring assembly.
The present invention is also directed to a golf practice device comprising: (a) a spring assembly attached to a spring assembly base, wherein the spring assembly is capable of at least partially reducing kinetic energy of an associated golf ball; (b) at least one spring assembly guard attached to the spring assembly base, wherein the spring assembly guard prevents the golf ball from contacting the spring assembly; (c) a golf ball, wherein the golf ball is associated with the spring assembly; (d) a damper assembly attached to a damper assembly base, wherein the damper assembly comprises a damper support and a damper pad which emanate generally upward from the damper assembly base, and wherein the damper assembly is capable of at least partially dissipating kinetic energy of the golf ball.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spring assembly base and the damper assembly base are hingably secured to each other, thereby enabling the golf practice device to articulate from a storage position wherein the spring assembly base is positioned below the damper assembly base, to a use position wherein the spring assembly base is positioned adjacent the damper assembly base.
In another aspect of the present invention the damper assembly further comprises a handle for transporting the golf practice device when in the storage position.
The present invention is also directed to a golf practice device comprising: (a) a spring assembly attached to a spring assembly base, wherein the spring assembly is capable of at least partially reducing kinetic energy of an associated golf ball, and further wherein the spring assembly comprises a compression spring which emanates generally parallel to an intended flight vector of the golf ball; (b) at least one spring assembly guard attached to the spring assembly base, wherein the spring assembly guard prevents the golf ball from contacting the spring assembly; (c) a golf ball, wherein the golf ball is associated with the spring assembly; (d) a damper assembly attached to a damper assembly base, wherein the damper assembly comprises a damper support and a damper pad which emanate generally upward from the damper assembly base, and wherein the damper assembly is capable of at least partially absorbing kinetic energy of the golf ball, and further wherein the damper assembly is capable of redirecting the golf ball back toward an initial position prior to being struck by a golf club.